With a progressive shutter the image is captured in one sweep, as opposed to an interlaced mode where every second line is recorded in one sweep and the remaining lines in the following sweep. With progressive scan the image is razor sharp and can be enlarged and printed, while an interlaced scan can produce an image which appears blurry as if the subject was moving too fast.

Digital zoom is a function used to make the image seem more close-up. This type of zoom will result in a loss of quality because the image is simply being enlarged.

Optical zoom means that the lense physically extends to magnify your subject. A motor controls the lens movement. When you press the switch to "W" or "T," the subject is either magnified or reduced in size. The "W" stands for "wide-angle" (reduce). The "T" stands for "telephoto" (magnify). Optical zoom always give better quality than digital zoom.

Optical, or hardware, image stabilization produces the best results, and consists of either a gyro mechanism that detects small movements of the lens and compensates for them or, for digital camcorders, a liquid- or gel-based prism mounted in front of the lens that bends the light so that the image falls on a fixed point on the CCD.
Electronic, or software, image stabilization is less expensive but is available on digital camcorders only and is considered to be less effective. This method takes the full image, pans and scans to blunt movement, and crops the outer portion of the frame to reduce the sense of motion.

A video camera plays either in mono or stereo sound. Stereo sound creates a greater audio experience.

What is the recording format of the video camera?
VHS-C - VHS-Compact format. Like a traditional VHS cassette but smaller. The same resolution as traditional VHS.
8 mm - A small and compact format where the band is only 8 mm of width. The playing time is longer than VHS-C.
Hi 8 - An 8 mm format with a higher resolution than the traditional 8mm format. Longer play time than VHS-C.
Mini DV - High quality sound and picture. Everything is recorded in a miniature cassette and even the sound is recorded digitally with CD quality. The cameras are small and light.
Digital8 - The cassettes are the same as Hi 8. The recording technology is however digital, so the quality of sound and picture is equivalent to Mini DV. The Mini DV cassettes are yet smaller than the Digital8 cassettes.
DVD - Instantly after recording you can use your DVD-player to view what you have recorded. Most cameras use DVD-R or DVD-RW and the majority of them can record into both formats. Cameras that use DVD-R requires disc finalization in the camcorder before you can play it in your DVD-Player. Some cameras use DVD-RAM which has the advantage that you can record and rerecord more than 100 000 times. Always check the compatibility of your DVD-player before buying.

LCD - Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) is a screen made of buoyant crystal. These screens are very flat and small on camcorders. The LCD screen enables you to see the result of your filming directly on the screen. In effect it works like a small TV.

What is the weight of the video camera (grams)?